A federal grand jury returned an indictment on Wednesday charging Omoyoma Christopher Okoro, 51, a United States citizen born in Nigeria, with naturalisation fraud.
The indictment alleges that Okoro lied about his criminal history on his application to obtain U.S. citizenship.
According to the indictment and previously issued court documents, Okoro is alleged to have made knowingly and materially false statements under penalty of perjury on an application for naturalisation.
In response to one question, “Have you EVER committed, assisted in committing, or attempted to commit, a crime or offence for which you were NOT arrested?” he answered “No.”
Okoro took the oath of citizenship and was naturalised on December 13, 2018.
On September 19, 2024, following a jury trial in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, Okoro was convicted of conspiracy to commit mail, wire, and bank fraud.
He was also convicted of two additional counts of wire fraud, one count of mail fraud, and one count of bank fraud. He was sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 100 months and ordered to pay over $22 million in restitution.
According to the jury’s verdict, Okoro committed those crimes from at least August 13, 2008, through January 1, 2011. He was not arrested until after he naturalised in 2018, so immigration officials were unaware of his crimes before granting citizenship.
Okoro is charged in a three-count indictment with naturalisation fraud.
If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison as well as the automatic revocation of his United States citizenship.
Daniel P. Bubar, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations Division is investigating the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Lori Warlick is prosecuting the case.
In September 2023, Okoro was found guilty of all charges against him following a five-day jury trial. Okoro was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution, mail fraud affecting a financial institution, and bank fraud. In addition, Okoro was charged with two counts of wire fraud affecting a financial institution, one count of mail fraud affecting a financial institution, and one count of bank fraud.
According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, Okoro, a naturalised U.S. citizen of Nigerian origin, resided in Nigeria before moving to the United States around 2013. Between 2006 and 2010, Okoro conspired with others to defraud attorneys located in the United States through what became known as the “attorney collection scheme.”
Through this scheme, attorneys in the United States were contacted by a prospective “client” in a foreign country who purported to need legal representation. The client typically claims to be owed money by someone in the United States, resulting from a business transaction, settlement of a dispute, or an accident.
If the attorney responded to the initial inquiry, the attorney would then be told that the other party had agreed to settle the matter and was prepared to make a payment. Soon after that, the attorney would receive a counterfeit “official check” supposedly issued by a U.S. bank in the mail.
The attorney was directed by the client to deposit the check into his or her law firm escrow account, keep a portion of the funds as payment for services, and wire the balance to a foreign bank account, typically located in an East Asian country.
Once the funds reached the foreign bank account, they were immediately withdrawn by a member of the conspiracy, generally before the attorney victim realised that he or she had been defrauded. The attorney and the attorney’s bank would then be left responsible for the loss once they realised that the official check was counterfeit.
The evidence at trial showed Okoro communicating with numerous other members of the conspiracy, including individuals responsible for furnishing the financial accounts in East Asia used to receive victim funds, as well as individuals who appeared to be in contact with attorney victims.
On numerous occasions, Okoro was either the sender or recipient of emails confirming that an attorney victim had wired funds to a foreign bank account. In addition, evidence at trial showed funds flowing back to Okoro from co-conspirators located in the area of Toronto, Canada, where several key members of the conspiracy resided.
In total, it is believed that over $23 million in fraudulent proceeds were obtained through the attorney collection scheme, and over $80 million in attempted fraud occurred. Okoro represents the latest defendant to be prosecuted in this district for his role in the attorney collection scheme.
Prior defendants include Emmanuel Ekhator and Yvette Mathurin, who were previously residents of Canada and Nigeria, and Kingsley Osagie, also from Nigeria. They also include Henry Okpalefe, who was previously a resident of Toronto, Canada, and Nigeria.
